Police monitor anti-Semitism in British suburb

July 2, 2007 9:00am

Police are stepping up patrols in a British suburb following a number of anti-Semitic incidents.Jewish families in Manchester walking to and from the synagogue in the town of Hale Barns have been harassed by youths shouting racist abuse from their vehicles, according to the police.”A 17-year-old boy has already been charged with four counts of racially aggravated public order offenses,” Superintendent John Graves of Greater Manchester Police’s Trafford division said. “Hate crime and anti-Semitism is distressing and abhorrent. We take all anti-Semitic incidents extremely seriously and will not tolerate them. Through this operation we hope to send a clear message to offenders that they will be caught and brought to justice.”Police have been conducting high-visibility patrols, including having mounted officers and members of the police’s Anti-Social Behavior Unit patrol in hotspot locations at key times. The aim is to reassure the local Jewish community, deter criminal activity and gather intelligence to arrest those responsible.